Flapper by Joshua Zeitz is based on the revolutionary times of the 1920s and the explosion of defying the eras before it — the era of ultimate defiance.
The era before the Roaring 20s was the Victorian Era. Where rules were strict in every which way. The time of poise and class, the era of limiting women from just about anything.
This story goes into deep detail about the women of this era and how much they shaped this decade. Zeitz’s main topic was flapper girls and how they fought for their freedom in a controversial time.
It’s widely known that the 1920s extravaganza started right after ‘The War to End All Wars.’ After one of the most brutal wars in history was over, society wanted to celebrate their lives and make the most of it. The things that made celebration easy were banned by law. The alcohol ban made people fall into a frenzy.
The youth went ballistic trying to live freely and accordingly on their own terms. Especially young women who were bound to a life of nothing but marriage and children. The young women of the 20s had to rebel in explosive and explicit ways to grasp the attention of the close-minded.
They started to cut their hair short, wore exposing dresses, drank without a chaperone, and could be found alone with the opposite sex without a chaperone. These girls were called ‘Flapper Girls.’ They shaped the way women were allowed to live for the next generations to come.
Most adults of that time could not even apprehend that the women were so out of hand and wild. The youth would dance every worry stapled in their mind away. They would show their love for music, love, lust, and rebellion out in the open. It gave the children in the Victorian era heart attacks.
The 20s were nothing but a blissful rebellion that was full of hardship and force for women to be let free which is explored and covered well through Zeitz’s writing in Flapper.